Position: Director of Engineering (WASH)
Location: Los Angeles preferred, but will consider remote; frequent travel
Employment type: full-time exempt
Compensation: Salary range from $75,000 to $100,000 depending on experience
Simply Put:
DigDeep is the only WASH (water, sanitation, and hygiene) organization serving the more than 2 million Americans who still don’t have a tap or toilet at home.
DigDeep is growing fast. We won the 2018 US Water Prize for our Navajo Water Project, which has brought clean, running water to hundreds of Native families across New Mexico, Arizona, and Utah. Now we’re expanding that work across the country. We’ve built new partnerships with impacted communities and we’re developing WASH projects in Alabama, Texas, and West Virginia informed by data from the first national study on water and sanitation access, which we’ve just completed.
The Opportunity:
The Director of Engineering (WASH) leads and coordinates DigDeep’s water, sanitation, and hygiene systems, including the design, technical implementation, operational excellence, and long-term sustainability. This position will support headquarters and field programs by creatively identifying appropriate technology, preparing and reviewing designs, monitoring system performance, and providing leadership and oversight throughout the project cycle.
The Director of Engineering is responsible for actively participating in the development and completion of projects, ensuring quality, efficiency, and effectiveness of DigDeep’s WASH systems, providing expert guidance and support, and maintaining positive relationships with both internal and external stakeholders, The right candidate has a clear vision for how we can close the water access gap in America and loves creative problem solving and field work. The Director of Engineering will provide technical expertise to an already powerful team of passionate changemakers who will bring clean, hot and cold running water to every American.
This job is full-time and based in Downtown Los Angeles, at DigDeep HQ. Remote work will be considered. It involves frequent travel to program sites across the US.
Reports to: Chief Program Officer (CPO)
Supported by: Program Managers, Program Engineers, Finance Manager, Culture and Ops Manager
1. Plan Projects
You will collaborate with the CPO to plan our technical water, sanitation, and hygiene projects to serve people in need of water with excellence and efficiency.
- Serve as Subject Matter Expert (SME) for Engineering for all DigDeep programs.
- Actively participate in program strategy, planning, tracking and reporting activities led by the CPO.
- Work with the CPO, Project Directors, and staff to coordinate the timing and execution of individual projects within the regional portfolios.
- Assume responsibility for the existing water systems; identify efficiencies and make improvements to existing systems.
- Develop strategies for serving communities based on their unique needs and other factors such as geography, economic capacity, and culture.
- Maintain an active understanding of WaSH technologies, including new and emerging technologies, through research, relationship building and conference attendance.
2. Deliver Services
You will design and implement WASH solutions that meet the challenges faced by communities in which DigDeep operates. Through your leadership you will model creative problem-solving, teamwork, and a belief in developing the skills and talents of others.
- Routinely visit project sites to conduct research, monitor implementation, provide capacity building for technical staff, and ensure compliance with relevant laws and company policies.
- Create viable work plans and timelines for the completion of projects; monitor work plans and ensure objectives are met in a timely and complete manner.
- Maintain or review productivity records including construction reports, inventory, water tests, and other datasets; generate periodic reports on program activity.
- · Develop and manage relationships with contractors; monitor work quality and contract compliance proactively intervene to ensure that projects stay on time and under budget.
- Work with Project Directors and Managers to assess and negotiate local contracts.
- Collaborate with local staff to design and implement enhancements to programs, including new technology and special projects.
- Ensure program compliance with relevant laws, standards, best practices and company policies, and work to increase the technical quality of program outputs.
3. Steward Resources
- Collaborate with the Chief Program Officer and Program Directors to develop an annual program budget; participate in quarterly budget update and analysis.
- Solicit proposals for materials and services, evaluate the proposals, negotiate with the selected providers and execute contracts for goods and services to be handed off to the local Project Manager to manage the day to day aspects of the project.
- Work closely with the respective Project Managers to continually improve efficiency, reliability, and cost of the designs.
- Work with the Project Managers and Chief Program Officer to review unit costs and to maximize resources.
- Collaborate closely with the development team to maximize all revenue and storytelling opportunities, especially those related to major donor cultivation and annual campaigns.
- Assist the development team by providing information for grant proposals, grant reports and donor communications; assist in the planning and execution of donor field visits (both, as appropriate).
4. Build Partnerships
- Provide technical insight and assistance as DigDeep initiates partnerships with regulatory agencies, suppliers, government officials and communities to help meet program goals.
- Foster an environment that promotes technical excellence, trust, and cooperation among staff, community members, and partner organizations.
5. Manage Talent
- Support Project Managers with their supervisory duties for technical employees like Program Engineers; assist with job descriptions and interviews; develop higher levels of expertise in technical staff by providing ongoing education and training opportunities.
- Work closely with the Chief Program Officer, Project Directors and Managers to plan and facilitate regular staff meetings, both virtually and in-person; provide strong day-to-day leadership that bridges high and low communication contexts to ensure all team members and clients are heard and understood.
- Provide clear, concise reports on technical plans, processes, and outcomes to executive staff and Board; represent DigDeep at relevant conferences and events.
- Assist Operations in the development, training and enforcement of all DigDeep policies and guidelines related to technical outcomes; train program staff on relevant systems and technologies.
As the organization continues to evolve, duties or tasks may change without impacting the overall Job Description.
Competencies
Others describe you as:
- Demonstrates Cultural and Contextual Awareness – Knowledgeable and experienced within WASH engineering, especially regarding appropriate technologies for rural, low and middle-income contexts.
- Effective Communicator – Strong written and verbal communications skills, and the ability to work in a diverse team environment
- Manages Complexity – Navigates uncertainties and incomplete information with a problem-solving mindset to identify appropriate technologies, creatively apply solutions, and uses a community-driven, sustainable approach.
- Builds Team and Talent – Team management skills including strong vision and clear direction, sound judgement, good communication and conflict management skills, and a focus on team-building.
- Demonstrates Ethics and Integrity – Always behaves ethically and in alignment with the values of the organization. Consistently follows through on commitments and lives our values of equality, transparency, and experience.
- Planner and Organizer – Strong project management skills including appropriate tools and techniques, the ability to build and manage a budget, strong writing, data collection and analysis skills.
Skills and Qualifications
- You have a bachelor’s degree in engineering; advanced degree and Professional Engineering License preferred
- You have 10+ years of relevant experience in water/wastewater engineering or an international development with a background in water, sanitation and health (WASH) projects.
- You have 5+ years managing a budget.
- You communicate clearly in English; Spanish and/or Navajo fluency is preferred.
- You preferably have experience in Navajo Nation, Texas, Appalachia, or the South. International experience also preferred.
- You are able to solve complex problems and collaborate with others to find creative solutions
- You have the flexibility to travel up to 30% of the time and attend meetings and events outside of regular business hours.
- You have advanced computer proficiencies on both PC and Mac, Slack, Google Business suite, Microsoft Office suite, and relevant project management software.
- You have experience collaborating with key internal and external stakeholders.
- You have very polished written, verbal communication and interpersonal skills; you’re able to motivate your team to produce quality materials within tight timeframes and simultaneously manage several projects.
- You’re a highly organized multi-tasker with a project management mindset; you believe anything is figure-out-able;
- You like to track your performance and continuously improve.
- You’re driven by a desire to make our country (and our world) a better place to live.
DigDeep considers a diversity of perspectives (e.g. geographic, economic, social, cultural, and other considerations) to be an essential asset to our team, therefore we encourage applications from people who are members of traditionally underrepresented populations.
Compensation and Benefits
At DigDeep, we believe that great work requires a great job. We pride ourselves on creating industry-leading employment opportunities for our team across the United States. We’re a supportive environment that values creativity, diversity and quick-thinking. Here’s how we’ll support you in your work:
- Salary competitive and commensurate with level of experience
- Generous paid vacation and sick leave
- 6 weeks parental leave at full pay
- Medical insurance, 100% employer paid
- Prescription drug coverage
- One Medical membership
- Life insurance, 100% employer paid
- Monthly cell phone allowance
- Domestic travel
- 401k retirement plan
We Are DigDeep
The DigDeep Right to Water Project is the only WASH (water, sanitation and hygiene) organization serving the nearly 2 million Americans who still don’t have a tap or a toilet at home.
Founded in Los Angeles in 2012, DigDeep believes access to clean water is a human right. Today, we run several nationally-recognized programs that empower communities to build their own water and sanitation systems. We won the 2018 US Water Prize for our Navajo Water Project, which has brought clean, running water to hundreds of Native families across New Mexico, Arizona, and Utah. We’re also leading an effort with Michigan State University, the US Water Alliance and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation to study the root causes of domestic water poverty in 6 “hotspots” around the country, including the California Central Valley, the Four Corners Region, the Texas border colonias, Appalachia, rural Alabama, and Puerto Rico. We’re poised to begin working in these areas, leveraging our relationships with philanthropy, industry, media, local communities, and a deep bench of more than 14,000 individual donors across the country.
DigDeep is built on the principles of equity, transparency and the power of human experience. Your work will improve the daily lives of real people – people you’re likely to meet. Every American should have the clean, running water they need to thrive. Join us, and we’ll close the US water gap in our lifetimes.
Interested?
Please submit a thoughtful cover letter and resume to: recruitment@joshswaterjobs.com. We will respond to all applicants. Please note that Note: DigDeep cannot provide immigration sponsorship for this position. Thank you.
